


An Ancient Dilemma

by Mhalachai



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-04
Updated: 2006-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-17 09:16:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2304539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mhalachai/pseuds/Mhalachai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Faith is beginning to think she made a mistake, going to Atlantis. But even so far away from earth, some things are like home...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something Worthwhile

The sun on her face pulled Faith from a restless sleep. Wide awake in an instant, Faith sprang up from her bed and dashed to her window. It had been too dark the previous night to see anything from her new room, but now she could see it all.

Water, spreading all around the huge city, all under a sun that wasn't anywhere on Earth. An alien sun gleamed in the sky.

This was so many kinds of fucked-up crazy nuts. Faith loved it.

She felt like it was the first day of school, the kind they'd had on TV, not like in her real life, but she wasn't going to think of that; those memories were in another goddamned galaxy. Faith was going to enjoy Atlantis while she could.

The room in the alien city was like something in one of Andrew's science fiction shows, with the door sliding open when Faith touched the little blue panel thing. She half-expected there to be an armed guard outside, ready to take her back to the _Daedalus_ , telling her there had been a huge mistake.

The hallway was empty, and Faith took a deep breath. It looked like they were planning on keeping her after all.

Not that they'd seemed too enthusiastic after the previous night. That Colonel Caldwell guy had marched her to Dr. Weir's office as soon as the _Daedalus_ landed. Faith was so happy to be back on land, instead of in a freaking spaceship, that she almost missed Weir's unhappiness. The doctor hid it well, but Faith got it. She wasn't wanted here, no matter what the military back on earth had told her.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. With hundreds of Slayers running around, they didn't need Faith any more. Buffy and all of them had it under control, and besides, Robin had made it abundantly clear that he didn't need Faith in his life.

So when the military offered to wipe Faith's record clean, train her up in military weapons and send her off-world to fight the vampire-like Wraiths... there was no other choice Faith could make.

At first, Buffy tried to talk her out of it. Willow and Dawn had dug and dug until they found about the information about the Stargate, and the Goa'uld, and the Atlantis expedition and the Wraith.

After that, Buffy helped Faith pack. She'd even offered to let Faith take the Scythe. Damn, Faith wanted to say yes to that, but she couldn't. It was the Slayer's source of power, and all the Slayers on earth needed it.

Still, walking down the empty hall in Atlantis, Faith's fingers itched to hold the Scythe again, just a touch of home in this strange place.

Then she smelled coffee, and things got a little better.

* * *

The cafeteria was pretty empty, so early in the day. Faith loaded up on coffee and whatever food they had available. After prison food, she could eat anything.

She took a seat by the window, letting more of the alien sun warm her skin, watching the people as they trickled through the door. There were two kinds of folks: the army dudes, and the eggheads. Most of the scientists ignored her, ignored everything but their books and papers. They were kind of like Andrew and Xander during the middle of a Star Trek marathon, a million miles away.

Thinking about Xander and Andrew made it hard to swallow. Automatically, Faith started to play the matching game that had gotten her through those first few months of prison.

Who in Atlantis was like Andrew? There was an easy answer to that: the rambling Canadian she'd met last night, with Dr. Weir. Dr. Rodney McKay. He'd been annoying and dismissive, but even listening to him for a couple of minutes, Faith knew he was real smart, book-smart like Willow.

Dr. Weir was like Giles, minus the tweed and the British. And that Colonel Sheppard guy, he reminded her so damned much of Xander. Scruffy, yeah, but he'd protect his people, his friends, if it was the last thing he ever did.

It didn't hurt that he was freaking hot, either.

The only person who really confused Faith was the woman in Sheppard's team. Teyla Emmagen. She hadn't spoken during their meeting, and no one had explained her job.

Faith shrugged it off. She'd figure it out soon enough.

The doors to the cafeteria opened again, letting in a whole pack of army guys. Faith froze, every muscle suddenly tense with adrenaline. It was the same reaction she had on earth to a large group of vampires. No, she realized. It was the same panicked response she'd had ever since she was little, to the large groups of boys that roamed her old neighborhood, looking for a little "fun."

A few of the army guys were from the _Daedalus._ One of them spotted Faith, and a smirk spread across his face. He said something to one of his buddies, who turned to look at Faith with contempt on his face.

Faith uncurled her fingers from the now-mangled fork, and set it on the table. The military said her murder rap didn't matter. Yeah, right. That guy must have learned about it somehow, and he was probably intent on spreading the gossip about Atlantis's newest killer.

Faith wanted to hit someone, to drive a stake through an unbeating heart. Instead, she pushed her chair back carefully and, eyes straight ahead, walked out of the cafeteria. Just as the door shut behind her, she heard masculine laughter.

She needed to break something. She was aware she had anger management issues; most Slayers did. So she'd manage her anger, and avoid putting the army jerk in traction on her first day here.

It figured that she couldn't get away from her past, no matter how far she ran. _How much farther can I go?_

"Can I help you?"

Faith whirled, hands out. The speaker was a scientist with glasses and a heavy accent. _Talk nice, Faith, no swearing._ "Yeah, is there like a gym around here or something?"

The guy thought for a moment. "For exercise?" he asked. Faith nodded, and the guy's brightened. "Yes!"

He launched into a complicated explanation, most of which Faith missed, but she thought she got the gist of it.

"Hey, thanks," Faith said when he was done.

"You are welcome. I'm Radek Zelenka," he said.

"Cool. I mean, I'm Faith."

Zelenka nodded. "Yes, Rodney told us about you, last night."

"What'd he say?" Faith demanded. Not McKay, too. She didn't know if she could handle that.

"That you were an earth defense consultant," Zelenka said. "He was surprised by you, but he knows Teyla, so I cannot see why." He turned his head, then touched the thing in his ear. "Zelenka here." After listening for a moment, he waved at Faith and hurried away, talking in some language Faith didn't know.

"Huh." So McKay had said nice things about her. Who would have figured it?

What was that comment about Teyla all about?

* * *

The gym was right where Zelenka said it would be. There was no gym equipment, but there were mats and staffs and sticks. Faith's anger dulled as she breathed in the faint scent of sweat and the mats and the wood. That was a familiar smell she'd missed.

Faith pulled off her shoes and socks and left them by the wall. The sticks were smooth and worn, speaking of long use. They were well balanced, an obvious pair. Faith was used to fighting with only one stake, but if the Wraith were as scary as everyone said, maybe she could use two.

She gave the sticks an experimental swing. They felt weird in her hands, so she set them down, and launched into a series of kicks, just to loosen her muscles. Her anger at the army jerk faded as she kicked and punched the air, imagining the impact of foot and fist against a vampire or a demon. Idly, as she jumped high in the air, she wondered if there were vampires out this far in the universe.

The air changed. Faith spun in the air as she fell back to the ground, her feet under her, ready to spring, as she registered the threat.

It was that woman, Teyla, standing in the open doorway. She was dressed in a leather bra thing and a flowing skirt. She looked like a million bucks, and Faith felt a little scruffy in her black jeans and t-shirt.

"Am I interrupting?" Teyla asked, her voice precise and just the tiniest bit alien. Funny, Faith thought aliens would have sounded British. Too much time around Andrew.

"Nah, I'm just..." Faith gestured with one hand. "You know."

Teyla looked at Faith for a long moment, then the corner of her mouth twitched up. "I do." She crossed the floor to the discarded sticks, and picked them up, twirling them absently. "I am meeting Colonel Sheppard for sparring practice, but I am early."

Suddenly, Teyla's snazzy outfit made sense, like how Buffy used to dress to the nines while patrolling, just in case Angel was around. "I can go--"

"No." Teyla spun the sticks in her hand, offering them to Faith. "I always welcome a new sparring partner."

Faith took the sticks without hesitation. "I'm not sure I know I how to use these things," she said. No one here knew about her Slayer powers, except Weir. Would it be cheating to fight Teyla without telling her about the Slayer stuff?

And when the hell did Faith start to worry about cheating?

Teyla smiled. "I will show you how, if you wish."

"Sure."

Teyla crossed the floor in a whirl of skirts to get another pair of sticks. She returned quickly, holding the sticks in front of her. Faith copied her stance, watching how the other woman stood, where her center of balance was, how her arms flowed into the movements. She held her torso tightly, like a coiled spring, and Faith couldn't predict which way she'd move.

This was going to be interesting.

Faith made an experimental hit with the stick in her right hand, noting in the back of her head how Teyla parried the blow, then twirled the sticks. Faith almost fell for the distraction, almost missed how Teyla darted in for a blow. As it was, only her Slayer speed saved her a knock on the head.

Faith danced back on the balls of her feet, heart pounding. She hadn't almost missed a blow like that since she'd last sparred with Buffy.

Fuck, this was fun.

"You are very fast," Teyla said, arching an eyebrow. She went back into stance. "Dr. Weir said you were a trained fighter."

"I'm a fighter," Faith corrected. "Not trained or nothing." Teyla attacked again, and this time Faith deflected the blow in Teyla's style. "Just point me at the Wraith and I'll kick their asses."

Teyla let loose a rapid series of blows. One made it past Faith's defenses, slamming hard against her thigh. Annoyed, Faith jumped and twisted and managed to hit Teyla in the arm.

"How do you expect to fight the Wraith if you are not trained?" Teyla demanded.

"Isn't that what this is?" Faith shot back. "What's your deal? You're like a Wraith slayer? So show me how to kill them, and we're in business."

Teyla circled Faith warily. "Dr. Weir will not tell us why she is so unhappy with your presence," the woman said. "Something bothers her about you."

Faith shrugged. "Could be anything, really. I've got a problem with authority."

Teyla whirled a stick as she sidestepped. "Why are you here?"

"Needed a new gig, this seemed like it would fit the bill."

"The truth."

Faith narrowed her eyes. "I will if you will."

Teyla looked faintly surprised. "What do you wish to know?"

"Are these people worth killing for?"

Teyla slowed. She deliberately put her arms to her sides. "These are people worth dying for."

And now Faith had her answer.

"Why are you here?" Teyla asked softly.

Faith switched the grip on the stick in her right hand, holding it like a stake. "Maybe I'm looking for something worth dying for." The moment the words were out of her mouth, Faith wished she had kept her mouth shut. She wasn't looking to die, she was looking to kill. She was a Slayer, not the Slayee.

She didn't take the words back.

Teyla nodded. "Stop holding back."

"Hey, I already told you--"

"I mean in the fight. You are holding back."

"Weir'll get mad at me if I hurt you."

Teyla grinned suddenly, looking much younger. "You won't hurt me."

Faith grinned back. "I'll hate to say I told you so." She threw her left stick to the side of the room, and launched herself at Teyla.

Faith wasn't the only one who had been holding back. Faith wondered if Teyla was part Slayer, limbs moving in a complicated dance of barely contained violence. Faith was stronger, but Teyla was more disciplined, with lightening fast reflexes and determination.

They fought for what felt like a very long time, neither gaining the upper hand. Each landed some lovely hits. Then, Teyla struck Faith in the side of the face a little too hard. Faith staggered back, alert enough to see Teyla wince at what she had just done. Teyla hesitated, for only a fraction of a second, but it was enough.

Faith yanked a stick out of Teyla's hand and threw it down, tangling up Teyla's feet. Faith went down a moment after Teyla, covering Teyla's body with her own, angling her stick against over Teyla's heart. As Teyla's back hit the mat, Faith felt something pushing at her throat. It was the tip of Teyla's remaining stick, pressed hard against her artery.

It was a draw.

Looking down into Teyla's eyes, Faith knew the other woman felt it too. They'd fought each other to an impasse. If it had been a real fight, both of them would have died. They had let down their guard, trusting the other not to kill them if things went wrong.

Faith hadn't fought like this in ages. It hurt and it stung and it felt like heaven.

Somewhere close by, a man cleared his throat. Faith and Teyla both dropped their sticks as they looked toward the door.

Colonel Sheppard and Ronon Dex stood in the doorway, looking all kinds of stunned. "Teyla, you okay?"

"I am fine, John," Teyla said, still lying beneath Faith.

Faith smirked as she pushed herself to her knees, then to her feet, offering Teyla a hand, helping her stand.

"That was..." Sheppard opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"Fun." Ronon crossed his arms over his chest, eying Faith intently.

"Not fun!" Sheppard exclaimed.

Faith let go of Teyla's hand. "I think I'm supposed to go see that Scotch doctor today," she said, wiping sweat from her forehead, and coming away with a smear of blood. "But we should do this again."

"Indeed," Teyla said, ignoring Sheppard and Ronon. She gave Faith a small bow. "You will need to teach me in your fighting style."

"You're on." Faith picked up her shoes and gave Sheppard and Ronon a wink as she headed out of the gym. Behind her, she could hear Sheppard's voice rising in agitation, and Teyla soothing him.

This place wasn't like home, but there was just enough of the familiar that Faith didn't see herself getting homesick.

Being on Atlantis might not suck so much after all.


	2. An Ancient Dilemma (1/3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's genetics that lets John Sheppard control the Ancient technology, but magic is what made Faith a Slayer. Right?

* * *

The blast rocked the ground near the Puddlejumper, nearly knocking Faith off her feet. Staggering under her burden, she managed to get her footing and kept running toward the Jumper.

"Hurry!" Teyla urged, tearing ahead of them to lower the Jumper ramp.

Out of the corner of her eye, Faith could see Ronon, exhausted and running as fast as he could, an unconscious McKay draped over his shoulder. Faith wasn't faring much better. Yeah, she had Slayer strength, but running for over two miles while carrying John Sheppard's bleeding body, which outweighed her by about eighty pounds with all his gear on, was fucking killer.

Another blast struck behind them, but now Teyla was returning fire, giving them enough cover to make it across the flat plain to the Jumper.

Ronon bounded up the ramp ahead of Faith. She slowed just a fraction, to avoid hitting him, when a Wraith dart fired a blast right next to the Jumper, shattering the rocks. Something hit Faith in the lower back, burning and painful like a knife wound.

Faith didn't scream. She had so much to do, there wasn't any goddamned _time_ to scream. Her momentum propelled her up the ramp, where Ronon helped her lay Sheppard down on the bench.

"How's McKay?" Faith asked as she fumbled for her P-90.

"Not dead yet," Ronon said briefly. He ripped open Sheppard's vest and put his ear on the man's bloody chest. "He's not dead yet either."

"Who's going to fly us out of here?" Faith asked, heading to the open ramp of the jumper to help Teyla. "Don't suppose you're a pilot, too?"

Teyla peered up at the patch of visible sky. The Wraith dart was making a large loopy turn back towards them. They didn't have a lot of time.

"We cannot leave."

Faith swore in the broken Czech she'd been learning from Zelenka. "You want to _stay_?"

"The ship cannot be piloted by anyone without the genes from the Ancestors," Teyla said, reaching for the bazooka case. "The Colonel and Dr. McKay are the only ones on our team with that ability."

"What kind of bullshit is this?" Faith shouted, helping Teyla load the bazooka. In the sky, the Dart had completed its turn and was on its way back. "Whose stupid idea was that?"

"The Ancestors." Teyla snapped the bazooka to her shoulder. "We must stand and fight."

"There has to be something we can do!" Faith dropped her gun by Teyla's side and sprang to her feet. The wound in her back shot stabbing pains all along her torso. She had to grab the black netting overhead to avoid falling on her way to the cockpit, stepping over McKay and Sheppard as she went.

"The weapons' system and the flight system are managed together," Teyla shouted, kicking a large gun over to Ronon.

Faith fell heavily against the pilot chair. "What about that cloak?" Damn it, she refused to sit here as fodder for space vampires while half her team was dying from an explosion. It was always a fucking explosion, either destroying half the Potential Slayers or half of her space army team. "Fuck!" Frustrated and terrified and not willing to die, she slapped her hands down hard on the controls.

The ship lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Teyla?" Faith said, backing away from the seat. A rush of footsteps, and Teyla was at Faith's side.

"You have the gene of the Ancestors?" Teyla asked, as surprised as Faith had ever heard. "How did you--" She shook her head. "You have to fly us out of here!"

"What? I can't fucking fly!"

"Incoming!" Ronon shouted. The bazooka went off in an explosion of noise.

"Faith, we have no choice." Teyla shoved Faith into the pilot's chair. "You must!"

"I can't even beat Andrew on the XBox!" Faith started hitting buttons at random. "Come on, ship, help me out!"

The ship responded, the cloak covering the ship as the ramp closed. Faith gave the flight controls an experimental tug, making the ship bounce up into the air.

"Use the weapons!" Ronon said, grabbing the back of the pilot's chair as the Jumper lurched drunkenly to one side.

"How?" Even as Faith asked the question, the ship shivered, and she knew the weapons were ready and armed. _Fire already!_ she screamed in her mind.

A bright yellow light zipped across the sky. The Wraith Dart exploded into a million pieces, and Faith had to pull up hard to avoid the debris.

"Hurry back to the Stargate," Ronon urged.

"No stops at the Tasty-Freeze?" Faith snarled, turning the Jumper around. "Are there any more Darts?"

The display screen appeared. Ronon pointed at a blue dot. "That's us." Then he moved his fingers down. "Three more Darts, on their way."

Faith's hands trembled on the controls. Everything was getting fuzzy, and she knew she was hurt bad, but she couldn't stop now. Three alien ships that wanted them dead, two team members dying in the back. She had to get them back to Atlantis.

The Jumper broke atmosphere, climbing into the starry sky. The Stargate was a tiny speck of silver in the distance.

"Hey, if we're cloaked, why're we worried about the Darts?" Faith asked, wondering distantly why her words were all slurred. She'd been hurt worse than this before, she wasn't going to let it get her down. She was a Slayer, and she had shit to do, lives to save and all that junk.

"If they get close enough when we open the gate, they will simply fire blindly," Teyla said, slipping into the chair beside Faith. "We must beat them there."

"How's those guys back there?" Faith asked. For the life of her, she couldn't remember the names of the wounded men in the back. Something about sheep?

"We must hurry," Teyla said, sounding grim. "When we are close enough, I will dial the Stargate, and send through my IDC."

"Whatever rocks your boat." Faith blinked hard as tiny black dots danced in her vision. The Stargate was getting bigger. "Hey, how do I slow this thing down?"

"We do not have time for that," Teyla said, punching the gate controls. "You will have to fly us through at this speed, and slow down in the Gateroom."

Suddenly, the Stargate didn't look so large. "Are you nuts?"

"We have no time!" Teyla hit her radio. "Atlantis, this is Puddlejumper One! We have a medical emergency! Two men down!"

Faith started giggling. This whole thing was so fucking surreal, like a video game. Andrew would have gotten a huge kick out of this. Faith wondered how many extra lives she had on this level.

"'K, ship, we're gonna have to slow down real quick." Faith gripped the controls hard, hoping she wouldn't fall over. "And no crashing."

The ship decloaked itself and seemed to giggle along with Faith, as the event horizon loomed large, then they were through and Faith stomped on the floor for the imaginary brakes. The side of the Jumper hit the Stargate on the way through, and they spun, knocking everyone around, but the ship stopped itself in the middle of the Gateroom.

Faith was left holding the controls and breathing heavily. The controls weren't responding any longer. Did she break the ship?

"The ship will dock itself automatically," Teyla said, laying her hand on Faith's shoulder. "You saved us."

"Right." Faith couldn't take her eyes off the control panel, full of dancing blue lights. She'd made it to the next level. Andrew would be so envious.

Once the ship docked in the bat, the back ramp opened up and the medical team rushed in. Their voices were all blurry, like there was a layer of water between them and Faith. She made herself let go of the controls and rotated the chair around.

Teyla and Ronon were helping the medical team with the injured men. _McKay and Sheppard_ , Faith finally remembered.

Dr. Weir ran up the ramp. "What the hell happened?" she demanded as she looked around. "If Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay are injured, then who flew the ship?"

"Faith," Ronon said, helping the med team lift McKay onto a stretcher.

"Faith?" Dr. Weir looked into the cockpit. Faith wanted to tell her to stop swaying back and forth, it was making her dizzy. "I wasn't informed that she had the gene--"

"Elizabeth, this can wait," Beckett interrupted. "All right, people, move!" The whole medical team buzzed around like bees, moving as a whole out of the Jumper. Dr. Weir and Teyla and Ronon all went with them, leaving Faith all alone.

_I should go too,_ Faith decided. _Make sure they're okay._

Getting up didn't hurt, and that bothered Faith. It should have hurt, right? The Jumper swayed as Faith stood. Was it an earthquake? Maybe she should tell someone. No, Atlantis was in the ocean. Waterquake?

The ground kept lurching as Faith walked. She staggered over to the door. It was a lot easier to not fall over when the wall was helping her stand.

_This ain't good._ A dull, dark ache was growing in her chest, like someone had opened her up and scooped out her insides like ice cream. _Maybe I'll sleep._

"Faith?"

Blinking, Faith tried to focus. "Buffy? That you?"

Slim, cool hands took Faith's face. "What happened?"

Those hands smelled faintly of gunpowder and blood. "Teyla, hey." Faith blinked hard to make the other woman come into view. "S'up?"

Teyla looked past Faith, and something on her face changed. "You are injured."

Faith turned around. Bloody footprints tracked down the hall, right to where Faith was standing. "What..."

Then the floor pulled itself out from under her feet and hit her upside the head. Someone was yelling and it sounded like Dawn, and Faith wanted to tell her that it was going to be okay, but Dawn was far away and Faith wasn't sure she could afford the long distance charges to another galaxy. Then...

Dark.


	3. An Ancient Dilemma (2/3)

* * *

Beep. Beep.

Faith cracked open one eyelid, wondering who left their damned cell phone on. The source of the noise seemed to be a heart monitor, hooked up to the sleeping man in the bed next to hers. Faith cracked a smile.

_Shepp's going to love it when I tell him we ended up sleeping together._ But he deserved it, with his wisecracking and flirting with every alien they'd met over the last few weeks. Honestly, Faith didn't know how Teyla put up with him. Oh, right. There was "nothing going on" between them, McKay had said, complete with eye-rolls and air quotes.

Speaking of which, rolling her head to the side, Faith spotted McKay on the other side of the room, sitting up in his hospital bed, playing on his computer. He looked like hell, with some scarring from the explosion still visible on his face, but at least he could sit up under his own power. Bastard.

The ache in Faith's back felt as if someone had staked her. For a fraction of a second, she felt a little sorry for all the vampires she'd staked over the years. Then she realized what she'd just thought, and shook her head. What kind of drugs was she on?

"Are you in pain?"

Faith turned her head as Teyla sat in a chair beside the bed. She hadn't seen the Athosian at first. "No. Yes. Beats me."

"Dr. Beckett was worried about how fast your body is metabolizing the painkillers," Teyla said, her tongue tripping lightly over the words.

"It's no big. I'll live." Faith took a shallow breath. "What got me?"

"A piece of rock," Teyla said, picking up a small dish that contained a gumball-sized pebble and holding it out to Faith. "It tore through the side of your vest."

"Shit," Faith breathed. She picked up the rock and looked it over. "Can I keep this?"

Teyla stared, rather incredulous. "I am sure Dr. Beckett will have no problem with that."

"Cool." Faith pointed at the Colonel. "How's Shepp?"

"He will be fine. He went into surgery after you, so he will be unconscious longer."

"Huh." Faith stretched experimentally. The pain was persistently dull. She could live with it. She'd had worse.

Teyla looked down at her hands for a moment. "I owe you an apology."

"What for?"

"For leaving you in the ship, when the medical team left," Teyla said. "I should have known you were injured."

"How? And really, it's nothing. Forget it." Faith shifted around, wishing like hell that Teyla would stop looking at her like that.

"It is my responsibility to keep this team together when Colonel Sheppard is incapacitated. I cannot 'forget' it."

"Yes, you can." Faith gritted her teeth and made herself sit up. "Look, really, it's okay. This kind of shit happens to me all the time."

Teyla's eyes grew wide. "What did you do before you came to Atlantis?"

They must have had her on some spectacular drugs, because Faith wanted to tell Teyla everything. "I'll make you a deal. You spring me from this place, and I'll explain."

Teyla shook her head. "Dr. Beckett has not given you clearance to leave."

Faith waved her hand. "What Dr. Scotch don't know won't hurt him." She swung her legs off the edge of the bed. "Think the cafeteria has any Jell-O?"

"You should wait for Dr. Beckett."

"Not happening." Faith put her feet on the floor.

Teyla touched Faith's shoulder. "Wait."

Faith gave her a look. "Don't tell me you like it here."

Teyla crossed the room and returned with a wheelchair. "We will take this."

"Now you're talking." Faith pulled a blanket off the bed, and had to let Teyla drape it over her shoulders. The transfer to the chair left her shaking, but Teyla pretended not to notice. "Who's driving?"

Teyla hooked Faith's IV bag onto the wheelchair pole before she began pushing. "I will."

McKay looked up from his computer as they passed. "Hey, how come she gets to leave?" he demanded.

"I look cuter in a wheelchair than you do," Faith said.

"Rodney, will you tell Dr. Beckett that we are in the commissary?" Teyla asked.

"Fine, whatever, just leave me here," McKay grumbled, going back to his screen.

"Sweet guy," Faith said as they rolled out the doors.

"He is not pleased with his convalescence," Teyla told her. "He never is."

Faith snorted. "Looks like Science Boy and me finally have something in common." The chair stopped suddenly, as Teyla paused to scan the corridor before she hurried on. "Are we hiding?"

"Dr. Beckett does not like it when his patients vanish," Teyla said.

"You guys do this often? Escape and all that."

"Occasionally. Colonel Sheppard in particular is known for leaving before he is fully healed."

"And you give him a hand," Faith finished. "Cool." They rolled down a couple more corridors, until the transporter was in sight. "How's everyone else?"

"Ronon is fine," Teyla said. She bumped the wheelchair into the transporter closet and hit the screen. "He wants to know how you can run so fast, however."

Faith shrugged, then wished she hadn't. "I eat a lot of Wheaties."

"And Dr. Weir is furious that no one told her you possess the genes of the Ancestors."

"Hey, that ain't my fault!" Faith protested.

Teyla pulled the wheelchair out of the transporter into the cafeteria. "You can tell me about it in a minute," she said. "Can you stand?"

In response, Faith put her hands on the chair arms and pushed herself into a standing position. Thankfully, she didn't pass out or squeal like a girl or anything embarrassing.

Under her own power, she managed to walk up the few steps to the tables. Teyla made sure she was sitting down and that her IV bag was on the table, before going to the food.

While Faith waited, concentrating on not shaking, a whole bunch of people came over to say hi. It was very different than her first day on Atlantis, over a month ago. Now, she knew almost everyone's name, and everyone wanted to talk, even the scientists.

The story of the screwed-up mission must have gotten around, because everyone congratulated her for saving the day. It was uncomfortable and nerve-wracking, and Faith was a little too happy when Teyla reappeared and shooed everyone away.

'They were out of Jell-O, but they had pudding and fruit," Teyla said, putting the tray down on the table.

"Chocolate?"

"Butterscotch."

"Score." Faith reached for the dessert. "How long do you think we have before the Doc finds us?"

Before Teyla could open her mouth to respond, Ronon slumped down into a chair at the table. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at Faith. "What are you?"

Faith narrowed her eyes. "Annoyed."

"Are you one of the Ancestors?"

"Am I a what?" Faith was honestly confused, both as to Ronon's question and at Teyla's shocked expression. "I'm not that old."

"He means, are you an Ancient, as are those who built this city," Teyla explained, glaring daggers at Ronon. "But that is not possible."

"I'm not an alien," Faith said nervously. "I'm just me."

Ronon snorted, grabbing fruit off the tray. "You can fly the ship. You beat off a Wraith in hand-to-hand combat. Even Teyla couldn't have run that far with Sheppard on her back."

"That doesn't mean I'm an Ancient," Faith said. She stirred at her pudding, wishing she had an aspirin the size of the Sunnydale crater. "I'm human. That's it."

"Weir doesn't think that's it." Ronon took a huge bite of apple. "She's bugging Beckett about why you never got tested for the gene."

"Okay, let's back this up," Faith said. "What's this gene you all keep talking about?"

Ronon shrugged his massive shoulders. "There's some gene the Ancestors had, and only a few humans here have it. It lets them power the city."

"I am told that everyone on the expedition was tested before they came to Atlantis," Teyla added. "You were not tested?"

This was starting to sound vaguely familiar. "There were those Army doctors who wanted my blood and all that, but I told them to go to hell, to find another lab rat." She hadn't said it quite like that; there had been more swearing and breaking of expensive things. "They could experiment on someone else."

Teyla and Ronon exchanged looks. "Dr. Weir would be interested in that story."

"So let's go tell her," Faith said.

"Hold on," Ronon said. He plunked the apple core down on the tray. "If it's not a what, it's a why. Did they do something to you back on your planet? Make you faster? Did they send you out here to test you?"

"What?" Faith's exclamation drew the attention of everyone still in the cafeteria. "No!"

Ronon reached for the other fruit on the tray. "Some of the guys on the earth ship said you killed a guy. Does it have to do with that?"

Faith gripped the table so hard that something cracked under her fingers. She had known it was too good to last. Her team sure as hell weren't going to trust her now.

It never occurred to Faith to lie to them.

"Yeah," she finally said. "I did that. But that's not... They weren't experimenting on me or nothing. I'm just like this."

Ronon continued eating, impassive, but Teyla looked as if she had been pole-axed. "You..."

The Athosian stared at Faith just like Buffy had back then, with shock and dismay, and it hurt as much this time as it had years before. "It's a long story," Faith said, pushing her tray away, hoping the pudding in her stomach wasn't going to make a reappearance.

Teyla took in a long breath, but Faith interrupted before she tried to salvage the situation.

"It wasn't... Not like a war thing, or anything like that. I killed a guy, is all," Faith said.

Ronon dropped the fruit peel on the tray. "You had a reason, though."

Things were happening too fast, leaving Faith feel like a trapped animal. She fucking hated this, getting close to people who turned on her when they found out what she'd done. "There wasn't a reason, he hadn't done anything!"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have killed him if you didn't have a reason," Ronon continued.

"You don't know that."

"What was it? An order?" Ronon set his elbows on the table and leaned closer. How had Faith ever thought this guy was dumb? "We all do things we don't agree with, when we're following orders."

Teyla's head snapped around, totally confused. "Ronon?"

Ronon spared her a glance before turning his gaze on Faith. "I was in the military on my world before I was a Runner. Before I was here." He left it at that, but Faith got what he wasn't saying.

Breathing was a little easier now. Faith propped herself up against the table, because the pain in her back was stabbing hard into her body. She might have a bit of an understanding with Ronon, but Teyla still had that wide-eyed Buffy look on her face. "I turned myself in, you know. Had me a trial and went to prison and all that."

"When'd you get out?" Ronon asked. "Did the military bring you to Atlantis from prison?"

Oh, this just kept getting better. Faith bit her lip to ride out the spasm of pain in her back. "I broke out of jail."

"Why?"

Faith glared at Ronon. "A friend needed me."

"What he need?"

"To save the world!" Faith exclaimed. "You think I'd have busted out if I didn't have a reason?"

"Does Dr. Weir know this?" Teyla asked slowly. The confusion on her face was fading as she processed what Faith and Ronon had said.

"I suppose," Faith said. "I mean, the military wiped my record when they offered me this job. Weir probably knows... she sure glares at me enough."

"She's going to be madder now, with the gene thing," Ronon said with a grin.

"I told you, I didn't know about that!" Faith said. She pressed her hand over her mouth for a moment, as the pain returned. Maybe leaving the infirmary wasn't such a hot idea.

Teyla's hand settled on her shoulder. "We should get you back."

"No, I'm good," Faith said.

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "You are worse than the Colonel."

Ronon snorted. "He's not going to be happy when he hears a girl carried him to the Stargate."

"Is that what Dr. Simpson calls 'the American male ego'?" Teyla asked.

"If ego means whining, then yeah, it does." Faith sat back experimentally. She saw stars the moment her back hit the chair, so she quickly moved forward again. _Don't do that again._ "So, um, are we good?"

Ronon shrugged again and glanced at Teyla. "I'm fine," he said. Teyla didn't answer.

"Yeah," Faith muttered. "Look, I'm going to go." She stood, mildly surprised when the room began to tilt.

Teyla steadied her before she hit the ground. "Yes, I think we should return to the infirmary," Teyla said.

"Shepp may be awake, can we bug him?" Faith asked hopefully as Teyla gently dumped her into the wheelchair.

"If he is awake." Teyla pushed the wheelchair into the transporter.

"If not, can we bug McKay?"

"If you wish."

Faith didn't think of it until later, but neither Ronon or Teyla had questioned her about her 'saving the world' crack.

* * *

Beckett wasn't exactly happy to see her, but he expressed his anger silently, taking vials of blood from Faith, and injecting a painkiller into her IV.

The rush of the morphine hit her in a rush, and she sank back into the bed with a sigh. "Thanks."

"Thanks," Beckett muttered. "You go gallivanting around in a wheelchair and all she says is thanks." He scribbled something on her chart. "No more running off until I say you can leave!"

Faith closed her eyes and waited until Beckett stormed off to berate Teyla.

"Faith?"

_Fuck._ Faith opened her eyes. "Dr. Weir?"

The head of the Atlantis expedition was standing at the foot of Faith's bed. She didn't look as pissed off as Ronon implied. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. Tons."

Weir clasped her hands together. "Dr. Beckett is going to run some tests on your blood--"

"For the gene, yeah," Faith interrupted. "I got that."

"About the gene--"

"I wasn't tested on earth," Faith continued. "I guess they never thought someone like me could be important like that."

She did something she usually avoided: she made eye contact with Weir. The woman stared back, no condemnation in her gaze. "It's a good thing that 'they' were wrong. You saved the lives of your team today."

How many times would Faith have to go through this? "It's nothing."

"You're wrong." Weir's voice was soft, but it still shut Faith up. "You did something amazing today. Don't pretend it was anything less." She nodded. "You rest. We'll talk when you're feeling better."

Faith closed her eyes as Weir turned away. She tried to tell herself the prickling under her eyelids was from the drugs, but she couldn't even lie to herself. 


	4. An Ancient Dilemma (3/3)

* * *

"Faith has the Ancient technology activation, or the ATA, gene."

Faith shook her head at Beckett's pronouncement. "Yeah, we knew that much." She pointed around the conference room, at her entire team, plus Weir. "We've known that for a week."

Beckett gave her a look. "You're not listening to me. _She_ has the gene."

"Oh." McKay sat up. "Oh oh oh!"

"Exactly," Beckett said.

"Gentlemen," Weir interrupted. "Can you please explain to the rest of us what you are talking about?"

"Sorry," Beckett said. He pulled up something on the display screen. It looked like the dinosaur DNA in Jurassic Park, a movie Faith had been forced to watch over and over on prison movie night.

Beckett pointed at a piece of the screen. "Here."

Faith blinked. "Here what?"

"The ATA gene is sex-linked." Beckett looked around the room at a number of blank faces, and sighed. "The gene is attached to the sex chromosomes."

"So?" Sheppard asked, slumped down in his chair.

Beckett sighed. "You must have noticed that there are more males on the expedition team with the ATA gene than females."

"We were looking for people in the traditionally male dominated fields," Weir said. "The military, theoretical sciences..." Her voice trailed off as Beckett shook his head.

"Even if that were the case, statistically, we should have located more women with the gene. It should appear in the population like red-green color-blindness, but it doesn't. It's startlingly rare to find a woman with the ATA gene on earth."

"Why?" Ronon asked. If Sheppard looked bored, Ronon was almost comatose with disinterest.

"How much do you know about human genetics?" Beckett asked him.

Teyla sat forward. "I, for one, do not know anything about this topic. The Athosians do not have your advancements in medicine."

"It's simple, really," McKay broke in. "The DNA in each of human cells is composed of the genetic material, half from each parent. Forty-six chromosomes make up that genetic blueprint, if you will." He stood up and began to pace, a sign that the explanation wasn't going to end quickly. Faith wished she'd brought a snack. "Each parent delivers twenty-three chromosomes to the embryo, and those match up with the other set upon fertilization."

He walked quickly to Beckett's computer and pulled up a screen. "The only exception on the matching is with the sex chromosomes, which determine if the offspring will be male or female." As he spoke, he drew a short line, labeled Y, and a longer line, which he identified as X. "If there are two X chromosomes, it's a girl, and if it's XY, it's a boy."

"Yeah, the short and stubby Y chromosome," Faith muttered.

"Very funny," Rodney said. "The ATA gene is recessive, so for--"

"Excuse me," Teyla interrupted. "I am not following this explanation."

"There are two kinds of genes," Sheppard said. "Dominant and recessive. Like eye color. The gene for brown eyes is dominant, while blue eyes are recessive. So if the parents pass on one gene for blue eyes and one for brown eyes, the kid will have brown eyes. The only way to get blue eyes is if both parents pass on a blue-eye gene."

Teyla nodded. "Yes, that makes sense."

Sheppard gave her a half-smile, then noticed McKay was staring at him with wide eyes. "What? It's high school biology."

"True," McKay had to admit. "But as I was saying, that sort of expression doesn't happen on the X and Y chromosomes."

"Short and stubby," Faith said again, smiling sweetly at Rodney's glare.

"If a recessive gene is on the X chromosome, then males only need their mother to pass the gene along." Beckett pointed at Sheppard. "Since both the Colonel and I have the gene, that means our mothers had the gene."

"Hey, wait," Faith said. "So that means that for me to have the gene, then both my mom and dad had it?"

"Yes."

"About the only thing he did give me," Faith said under her breath. "Anyway, so what? I guess that means there's more likely to be guys with this AT-whatever gene, right?"

"Exactly," Beckett said. "But as we said before, even taking into account the genetic rarity, statistically we should have found more women with the ATA gene."

"But instead..." Weir frowned, tapping her pen against the table. "We only found Simpson."

"No, we only brought Simpson," Beckett corrected. "Another woman involved with the Atlantis project in the early stages tested positive for the ATA gene, but she backed out before the expedition got off the ground. She never even visited the Antarctic site." He pulled up a picture on the screen. "Pamela Soon, a twenty-five-year-old microbiologist in Australia, has the gene, but she didn't come with us."

Beckett kept talking, but his voice seemed curiously far away as Faith struggled not to react, not to let anyone see what she was thinking.

She'd been on the trip to Australia with Willow and Kennedy to meet Pamela Soon, a Potential who had been activated into a Slayer by Willow's spell to defeat the First. Faith never really felt comfortable around Pamela. The woman had been too smart, too open. Faith hadn't trusted her, mainly because she was such an open book. But in the end, Pamela had agreed to start Slayer training. Faith remembered her saying something about wanting to make sure she made a difference, not wasting her life chasing dreams.

Pamela had been chasing Atlantis.

 _What's the chance that both me and Pam just have this gene as a coincidence?_ Faith thought. Her stomach churned as her whole world flipped upside down. _It has to be a coincidence. It can't have anything to do with the fact that we're both Slayers._

Faith had once asked her first Watcher what made her the Slayer, why she had been chosen. Her watcher had believed it was magic, that somehow the magic knew Faith was worthy. For years, with all the bullshit that had happened, Faith had clung to that simple declaration. She'd had to believe she was worthy, because nothing else would have gotten her through.

But if her growing suspicions were right, it wasn't magic at all. She wasn't chosen because she was worthy, or because she was special. She just had some freaky genes in her blood, something strange to set her apart from everyone else.

She wasn't special after all.

"Faith?"

With a start, Faith pulled herself back to the meeting. "Huh?"

Weir smiled at her. "I realize this is a lot to take in. I asked if you would be willing to try out the rest of the technology in the city that require the ATA gene."

"Yeah, I guess," Faith said, although she had no idea what that would entail. "I won't break anything, right?"

Beckett grinned at her. "If I can't break it, you can't." His smile faded slightly. "Are you all right?"

Oh, great. She must have looked as shell-shocked as she felt. She made an effort to smile. "Yeah, peachy. Look, I'm not one for this science crap-- stuff. Can I bail?"

"Of course," Weir said. Before she had finished the words, Faith was up and out of the room like a shot.

Her burst of speed only lasted a minute, which got her as far as the Gateroom She sank down onto the top step in the Gate atrium, staring numbly at the Stargate.

This genetic thing didn't make any fucking sense. If she was right, and all the Potentials and Slayers had the same genes, then what made her a Slayer when Kendra died? How the hell could a little gene know when the other Slayer died, and make a Potential into a Slayer? Why only one at a time?

She tried to tell herself she was probably freaking out over nothing. If both Faith and Pamela Soon had the same rare gene, it was probably a coincidence. That the Atlantis team hadn't found any other women with the ATA gene probably had nothing to do with the fact that Earth was now awash in Slayers.

Well, up to a certain age. Willow's spell had activated the young Potentials. They hadn't found any new Slayers older than thirty, and had been hard-pressed to track down any Potentials older than that. Giles hadn't been surprised, talking something about how Potentials usually ended up in high-risk jobs anyway. Many of them had been coming to sticky ends for centuries.

Faith needed to go have a talk with this Dr. Simpson lady, see what her deal was, if she'd been having any crazy dreams for the past few years, if she might have been a Potential.

 _What the fuck am I doing?_ Faith asked herself. _I'm acting like this gene thing is what's making me the Slayer, what makes us all Slayers. How can--_

"Faith?"

She looked up to see Radek Zelenka standing on the step beside her. "Radek, hey. _Dobrý den_."

He couldn't help smiling at her attempt at speaking Czech. "You don't look so good."

"Charmer," Faith muttered as Radek sat beside her. She tried to pull herself together. Radek was way older than her, all smart and stuttering, but he talked to Faith like she was just as smart as he was. They were friends now, and the last thing Faith wanted was to look weak in front of him. "McKay and Sheppard were doing their Pinky and the Brain impressions."

Radek laughed. "But who was who?"

"Yeah." Faith rested her elbows on her knees, staring at the Gate.

"Are you feeling better?"

"I need to stop getting impaled, but yeah." Faith jerked her thumb in the direction of the conference room. "Shepp's still supposed to be taking it easy."

"Broken ribs are nothing small," Radek said. "But that is too bad, I need him to look at something."

Faith looked at the small object in Radek's hands. It was smooth and metallic, about the size of her outstretched hand, with a groove on one side. "That thing? What is it?"

"That I do not know." Radek handed it to Faith. "We found a whole room of these on the North pier, but none of my team can get them to work. I thought, if they are activated by the gene..."

Radek's voice trailed off as Faith settled the device against her palm, causing it to light up.

The moment it touched her skin, the device, about the length of her hand and almost as thin, began to glow. Her fingers slid around it possessively, even as her breath caught in her throat.

It felt good in her hand. It felt powerful.

It felt like the fucking Scythe back on earth.

"It works," Radek said, sounding surprised. "Do you know what it is?"

Faith lifted her hand and aimed the device at the Stargate. The metal pulsed like a heart in her hand. She knew she could fire it, cut a hole in the far wall with a thought.

After Sunnydale caved in, and they'd gotten the wounded to a hospital, Buffy had told Faith all about finding the Scythe, and Caleb, and the strange lady in the pyramid.

_"It was like beyond weird," Buffy said softly, trying not to wake an exhausted Dawn. She laid the Scythe on the motel bed, tracing the metal of the blade with a finger._

_Unable to be so close and not touch, Faith ran her own hand down the shaft. "There was some old lady just waiting around for you to drop by a hidden stone pyramid in the Sunnydale cemetery?"_

_"Something like that. She said there used to be more of her... them, but by the time I found her she was alone. But she was like really old, and she's the one who went all King Arthur on the Scythe."_

_Faith picked up her can of soda and knocked it back. Damn, but she wished she'd thought to ask Giles to buy some booze for them; underage drinking be damned. She hadn't been drunk since before she went into the clink._

_"The lady said she made the Scythe and hid it from the dudes who made the Slayer. Someone used it to kill the last pure demon on earth then buried it here for me to find."_

_Faith rolled her eyes, about the only part of her body that didn't hurt. "Great, so instead of letting the Slayer actually use the uber-weapon, they hid it until it was almost too late. Have I told you how sick I am of stupid shit like this?"_

_"Yeah." Dawn shifted in her sleep, and Buffy paused to brush some hair back on her sister's face. "It's like she was waiting for me to show up and do all the work myself, wanting to show me something but not interfere, not get involved."_

_"No one's Switzerland," Faith said, standing up. "Not getting involved is getting involved." Screw this, Faith was going to get a drink. Maybe then she'd be able to forget about Robin almost dying, about the Slayers who did die, that she and Buffy weren't the only Chosen Two to save the world anymore. "Back in a bit, it's too dry in here."_

_"Faith."_

_Faith stopped with her hand on the doorknob._

_"We did it."_

_For the first time since this whole mess started, Faith allowed herself a tiny smile. "Yeah, we did."_

Shaking herself out of her memories, Faith said, "Hey, Radek, McKay told me these Ancients, they could, like, Ascend, right?" The man nodded. "So they could live a long time?"

"Yes, once Ascended. They are a much older race than humans. They first left earth over five million years ago, no one knows why."

"What does that mean, Ascended? Can they change things? Interfere in people's lives?"

"They are not allowed to interfere," Radek said carefully. "The ones who do are banished."

"What, like jail?"

"The one we met was condemned to stay on a planet forever." He eyed Faith's trembling hand. "Are you going to be all right? Should I get Dr. Beckett?"

_Yeah, get him out here to tell me that some goddamned Ancient wasn't the one who made the Scythe and who made all us little girls into Slayers._

Faith set the hand weapon down carefully, relieved beyond words when the lights faded back into the metal. "You better lock those things up," she said when her heartbeat stopped choking her, ignoring Radek's question. "They might be dangerous."

"Is it a weapon?" Radek asked, turning over in his hands again.

"Lock them up tight," Faith repeated. "Until Shepp gets a go at them."

Radek touched her arm, which startled her enough into turning around. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No. _Nejsem si jist_ , it's not good."

Radek smiled. "It will be."

"You don't know that."

"I do. Things have to be." He stood up. "I will go put these away until I can get a moment of Colonel Sheppard's time. Oh, and the _Daedalus_ is about to leave. If you have any letters or messages for earth, now is the time."

"Maybe I'll do that," Faith said. " _Dekuji._

" _Prosím._ "

Faith's hand tingled, the feel of the weapon in her mind like a brand, so like the Scythe. All the doubts in her mind about the gene and Slayers had been blown away when she wrapped her fingers around the little weapon.

This was fucking unbelievable.

* * *

> Buffy,
> 
> Hey. Still hanging out. They're letting me run around a lot, beating the crap out of the bad guys. Okay, there was only the one bad guy, but it was pretty freaking scary, but I chopped him up good, and with a sword too. I really miss my axe. Oh, and I got to fly one of their aircraft. That was way cool. I didn't break it either.
> 
> You ever wonder what made us like we are? Like, why you and why me, the Chosen Two? Why were we the ones, back in the day? Why not any of the wannabes? Hell, what made the wannabes?
> 
> How's Pamela Soon? That smart chick from Down Under? Is she still okay with the less brainy side of our job? Does she think she made the right choice in not chasing her dream? I wish I could tell her that dreams are sometimes real.
> 
> There's a bunch of really smart people around here, and they keep talking about shit I don't understand, but there's also people I can relate to. People like you guys. Yeah, even someone like Andrew. If Willow and Andrew had a bastard love child, it would be Rodney McKay. It's even stranger to see in person than it sounds.
> 
> Not much to say. I hope things are okay back there. I'm bad at this writing shit, so later.
> 
> Faith.

* * *

"How's it going?"

Faith didn't look away from the rising _Daedalus_ , as Sheppard leaned against the balcony railing next to her. "You know."

"Yeah."

The moment the Earth ship began its launch sequence, Faith had really wanted to tell them to stop, to climb on board to take back her letter to Buffy. But it was way too late now.

"Zelenka and McKay are still having heart palpitations over the new Ancient weapons," Shepp continued. "I blew up a table with one. It was pretty cool."

"Good for you."

The Colonel watched the _Daedalus_ fly away until it was a tiny speck in the sky, then he turned to rest his hip against the rail. "Ronon's telling everyone who will listen that you saved my ass last week."

"Ronon talks too much."

Sheppard laughed. "I've never heard it put like that before."

Faith looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Does it ever bother you that you've got that gene thing?" she asked suddenly. "That you're not in control of your own destiny and all that bullshit?"

"No." Sheppard squinted at her in the sunlight. "So I've got this gene, whatever. It makes me able to fly the Jumper, but it didn't change me. It just lets me do cool shit." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Why, you feeling all weird?"

Faith shrugged.

"I talked to Elizabeth." Sheppard ran his hand through his hair, making it stand on end. "I asked her to put you on my team on a permanent basis. No more of this training crap. She was all for it."

"What?" Faith pushed off the railing. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious. Anyone who pulls it together in the field like that, I want watching my six."

His smile faded, and they looked at each other for a long moment.

"Did you tell Teyla about this?" Faith asked. It was a valid question; the woman hadn't seemed very happy to learn about Faith's past, even though she had been acting okay lately.

"Yeah," Sheppard said. "She said it was a real good idea. She said some other stuff too, about trust and redemption, but she wasn't making a lot of sense and Ronon kept trying to steal my sandwich." He waved his hand. "Whatever."

 _Really?_ "What about Ronon?"

"Ronon was looking at me like I was dumb, so I think that means he's okay with it."

"McKay?"

"Rodney's always up for someone else with a gun to protect his lily-white ass, you know that."

Faith held her hands up. "I have no idea what color McKay's ass is, but hey, don't ask, don't tell."

"Oh, very funny. Come on, we've got stuff to do."

"I thought Quantum Leap had you off duty until your broken ribs healed up."

"Who?"

"Dr. Beckett. You know, that show, Quantum Leap? There was a guy on it named Dr. Beckett?" Sheppard stared at her blankly. "Where the hell were you in the early nineties?"

"That's classified," Sheppard said. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

"Pfht. As if. I could knock your ass into next week even if you weren't all helpless and kitten-like."

Sheppard headed toward the door. "Teyla's been kicking my ass around for years. Putting you in the mix won't bruise my ego too much."

"Maybe I'll tell her what you said about McKay's ass."

"Watch it, or I'm not taking you on your flying lesson."

Faith's mouth dropped open. "A flying lesson? In the Jumper? Like for real?"

"Yes, like for real. I need to take Zelenka to the mainland to test the range on that hand-weapony..." He gestured with his hands. "Thing. Elizabeth doesn't want me blowing a hole in the side of Atlantis."

"We can call it the Pie Plate," Faith suggested. "'Cause it looks like a squished pie plate."

"We can name it later," Sheppard said pointedly.

Faith laughed as she followed Sheppard to the stairs.

She had no idea what it meant in the grand scheme of things, her having the ATA gene and being a Slayer, but Sheppard was right. The gene didn't change what she was. She was a Slayer. She saved the world, that was her thing.

 _And I was Chosen, or whatever it was that picked me as a Slayer back when Kendra died,_ Faith reminded herself, watching Sheppard's butt as he climbed up the stairs ahead of her. _Maybe these creepy Ancients were tinkering with the system, but we're the ones who kept fighting and kept dying. We're the special ones, not them._

"The most important thing about flying is to keep an idea of your flight path in your head," Sheppard said over his shoulder.

"I thought the most important thing about flying was not crashing and dying," Faith shot back, hoping up the last few steps.

Sheppard sighed. "Okay, fine, the _second_ most important thing about flying..."

_the end_


End file.
